pretty good reporter but she’d met her match with him. She was in for a big surprise.
He strode toward the front door, letting the screen slam behind him as he left. He didn’t look back as he climbed into the pickup and started it up. But before he was out of sight of the cabin, he couldn’t stop his gaze from going to the rearview mirror. She hadn’t come outside to watch him drive away this time. Had he hoped for one last glimpse?
Yeah, he’d been at his brother’s ranch way too long.
Actually, it wasn’t so bad. This was where he’d grown up. He and Brian had covered nearly every inch of the place. There wasn’t a lot of extra money back then, but they hadn’t needed video games or even cable television. They’d had something even better: their imaginations.
Trees had become forts, and hills had been made for capturing and laying claim to. They’d fought battles and conquered marauding Indians and even a pirate captain or two.
Then they’d grown up. At least he had. Sometimes he wasn’t so sure about Brian.
He pulled to a stop beside the barn and turned off the engine before getting out. The sprawling ranch house brought back a lot of good memories. It was bigger than when they were kids. Brian had added a wing for guests and put in a swimming pool. It looked exactly like in the brochures, complete with spa packages.
He shook his head. Spa packages.
Not that it mattered to him. And he was still proud of his little brother. Brian had done all he’d set out to do. Cal started toward the house.
“Hey, Cal,” Brian called from behind him.
Cal turned around. His brother stood just inside the barn. “I thought you weren’t going to be home until tomorrow.” He headed back toward the barn.
Brian had gone out of town to look at some horses. Why, Cal had no idea. He had more than enough, if you asked him. Sometimes he wondered how they could be so much alike but so far apart at the same time.
“They weren’t what I was looking for. Besides, I have to find a new massage therapist since Amy quit. With Shelley sick, I’m needed more here.”
Cal noticed for the first time how tired his little brother looked. Maybe what he had to tell him would lift some of the weight he seemed to be carrying on his shoulders.
“One called asking about the ad that was in one of the papers. Good idea advertising in some of the bigger newspapers, but then, I doubt you would’ve found one around here.”
“That fast? Great. When is she coming in for an interview?”
Brian reached into the cooler that was just inside the barn and pulled out a beer, tossed it to Cal. Cal caught it, twisted off the cap as Brian grabbed one for himself, then joined him at the back of the pickup.
“Tomorrow.” At least, he was pretty sure it was tomorrow. Yeah, he was certain she’d said tomorrow. She’d sounded nice. Cal thought he’d detected a bit of desperation in her voice, as though she really needed the job.
What the hell was he supposed to do? Brian needed to fill the position fast and the woman said she had experience. He grimaced, knowing exactly what he’d done. He might have implied that she was already hired.
He’d let Brian sort it out. His little brother was good at fixing stuff. Besides, Brian needed a new therapist. She needed a job. Two problems solved.
“Andy said you put a woman up at the homestead. A young, pretty woman.” Brian tilted the bottle against his lips and took a long drink.
“Nikki Scott.” The therapist was quickly forgotten as he lost himself in a mental vision of Nikki.
Brian half sat on the open tailgate. “Do you think that was a smart move? No one has stayed there in months.”
“It was the only thing available.”
“Still, I’d hate for her to tell anyone what it’s like out there. That’s not what this ranch is about unless someone really wants to see how things used to be. This Nikki Scott doesn’t sound as though she fits the bill. What does she do for a living?”
“She’s a reporter.”
Brian choked on his beer.
Cal pounded his brother on the back. “You going to live?”
He took a deep breath. “Not if she writes about her stay at the homestead. I know you hate reporters, but don’t take it out on this woman, especially not on my ranch. Why the hell didn’t you just tell her we were full?”
He grinned as he remembered the way Nikki had sounded on the phone. “She had a voice that made me think of long nights of hot sex.”
Brian grimaced. “I would think Cynthia had cured you of those kinds of thoughts-at least for a while.”
Cal frowned. “You really know how to kill a moment, little brother.”
“If she writes a bad review I’ll do more than kill the moment. I’ve worked hard to make a go of this place. I’d hate to think it was all a waste.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you’ve put too much into it. There’s something to the old saying that all work and no play makes a person hard to be around.”
Or something like that. It was the truth, though. Brian had forgotten how to play. When little brother frowned, he continued.
“Don’t worry, she’s not here to write a review about the ranch. Jeff called to warn me about her.”
“Jeff? From college?”
“Yeah. Nikki’s here to dig up what dirt she can get about me and Cynthia.”
“All the more reason to get rid of her,” Brian said. “You don’t need more reporters hounding you. That’s why you came here in the first place.”
Cal laughed. “Yeah, I thought Nikki would turn her car around and leave when she saw the place. Man, it looks rougher every time I set eyes on it. Nikki must’ve thought so, too, but she tried to hide her expression. Not that it did any good. Shock was written all over her face.”
“But she didn’t leave.”
He shook his head. “Not even when she opened the cabinet and came face-to-face with Bandit.”
Brian chuckled. “I’d like to have seen that. I can’t believe that old coon is still alive. He must be at least twelve years old by now.”
Cal realized that was the first time he’d heard his brother laugh in a long time. It was nice. “No, the best was when I told her about the outhouse. That was sweet.”
“I doubt it was to her.” He shook his head. “Damn, I should’ve bulldozed it a long time ago, but I didn’t want to get that close.” He took a swig of beer and swallowed. “But she’s still there?”
“She’s tenacious, I’ll give her that. Jeff said they call her The Barracuda. I think I’m finding out how she got the name.”
“If she sees the ghost, she’ll be out of there quick enough.”
Cal rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you still believe the place is haunted.”
“I know it is. Saw the spirit myself.”
“You saw it?”
Brian shrugged. “Well, yeah-sort of. It was more like shadows and light. Once, I thought I heard a voice call my name. I’m telling you, the place is haunted.”
Cal snorted. “Whatever.”
“So she has a nice voice, but what does she look like?” Brian suddenly changed the subject.
Cal glanced at his brother, really looking at him. He wasn’t all that little anymore-six two, at least-and he was tanned from days spent in the sun. His dark good looks had caused more than one girl to go into a fit of giggles when they were in school. Nikki wouldn’t be any more immune than most women. Brian would crook his finger and she’d tremble with anticipation. For some odd reason, that bothered Cal.
“What does she look like?” he repeated Brian’s question, then cleared his throat. “Butt ugly. Remember that old nag Grandpa used to have?”
“The gray one with buckteeth?”
“That’s the one. If you had a picture of both of them, you wouldn’t be able to tell which one was the horse and which one was the woman.” He didn’t look at his brother but tilted the bottle of beer to his lips.
“But Andy said she was pretty.”
Cal snorted. “Yeah, well, look at some of the women Andy has dated.”
